Can't forget the forgotten

I always like to say there are three Fijis: the resort, the city and the village. But this week I ventured into the fourth and forgotten part of the country – the squatter settlement.
And when I say ventured, I don’t mean I just wandered into the settlement uninvited – that would be neither safe nor wise. Rather, I was doing a story on two Australians working in Jittu Estate, one of Fiji’s largest shack towns.
Entering the settlement was like stepping into another world. Hundreds of tiny tin shacks dotted the hilly landscape, which stretched for several city blocks. Pools of raw sewage, piles of garbage and malnourished dogs were everywhere I looked. I received wide-eyed stares as I passed the settlement’s inhabitants. For the first time in Fiji, I didn’t feel welcome.
Of course, I knew better than to go in alone. I was escorted into the settlement by a local liaison. He arranged for me to meet a typical Jittu family, the Silu’s: a mom, dad and six children living in a one-room, ten-by-ten-foot shack with no electricity. I entered the dingy dwelling and sat on the floor, because there wasn’t a stick of furniture. I couldn’t help but notice that it was early Wednesday morning, but none of the kids were in school. I ask the mother why her children weren’t in class, and she tells me that sometimes when there is enough money a few of the kids go to school – but that isn’t often. Her oldest son Esava, who is 15 years old, has never stepped foot inside a classroom.
I have never seen this level of poverty before. School in Fiji only costs $15 per term, but this family can hardly afford to feed their children, let alone send the kids to school. But it isn’t the poverty that strikes a chord with me – it’s the hopelessness that I feel. What can be done for these people?
There are those who will say laziness landed these individual in their dire situation, and why don’t they just go out and get a job? But those who say such things don’t understand the underlying complications.
Take Esava for example. He can’t read or write, and he can barely communicate. Having never attended school, he didn’t get a chance to learn how to socialize with other children his age. His mom fears for his safety in the settlement, so she doesn’t let him leave the house. There’s nothing in the home to entertain him: no television, no books, no radio – nothing. He literally just sits around all day long, a prisoner in his own home. The only people Esava interacts with are his parents and siblings.
How can he be expected to work anywhere? Who would hire him and what would he do?
No, the problem isn’t laziness; it’s a vicious cycle of poverty. It’s likely Esava will grow up and live in the same squatter settlement – it’s the only life he’s ever known. And thus, the cycle will continue.
But wait. Here’s where the two previously mention Australians come in. Ironically named Bryan and Chris Hope, the father and son duo travelled to Fiji to work in Jittu Estate. The Hopes didn’t want to put a “band-aid” solution on the settlement’s problems. Knowing hand-outs don’t work, Bryan and Chris want to bring a long-term solution to Jittu.
There is only one sure way to eradicate poverty: education.
Bryan found donors in Australia willing to sponsor Jittu families by paying the children’s school fees. The Hopes believe this method is far more effective than giving the families material objects, because now the children have the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.
Again, let’s go back to Esava. If he went to school he would know how to read and write. Now he would be able to make a resume and apply for jobs. He would have the social skills and communication skills necessary to work in a variety of fields. Furthermore, he would have the option of going on to university, college or a trade school. Suddenly he would be able to move out of the squatter settlement, support his family and one day send his children to school. Thanks to the Hopes, Esava’s younger brothers and sisters will get the chance to control their futures.
Poverty may be cyclical – but so is the solution.